Liquid phase oxidation of 2-methyl pyridine to 2-pyridinecarboxylic acid over cobalt-doped SBA-3

Cobalt-doped SBA-3 was synthesized by cogellation method and was used as a catalyst for the oxidation of 2-methyl pyridine in acetic acid using aqueous hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. The catalyst exhibited very high substrate conversion (98%) and good product (2-pyridinecarboxylic acid) selectivity (93%). Fast hot catalyst filtration experiment proved that the catalyst acted as a heterogeneous one and it can be reused two times without losing its activity to a greater extent. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, diffuse reflectance UV–vis, and FT-IR.